Countdown
by Caranath
Summary: the Brothers race against the clock to save an innocent girl
1. Chapter 1

**A/n: **_Happy start of the holiday season Y'all! Remember me? it's been a jam packed summer for me, beginning with my sister in law's wedding in July, driving to Texas from NY with 3 yowling cats in the back seat immediately after the reception(literally) and getting used to the Texas definition of 'summer'( 110 in the shade and zero humidity or precipitation). Luckily the Texas definition of 'winter' is far less annoying. Here it is the week before Thanksgiving and it's 70 out. _

_This is a very short tale, probably no more than 5 chapters and quite probably less than that. _

**Countdown**

Joe Hardy approached the back door facing the dock so quietly his partner Joanna never heard a sound and practically jumped out of her skin when he laid a light hand on her shoulder in the darkness. Ordinarily, at this point, Joe would crack some joke about scaring her or being afraid of the dark, but not tonight. Tonight he was as grim faced as she had ever seen him, far more serious than even his brother Frank ever got, which was pretty darn solemn at times. "Anything?" he whispered close to her ear.

Joanna shook her head. "Two went in about half an hour ago. I can hear their cell phones going off every so often, but can't make out any conversation." she whispered quietly.

"So we don't have confirmation." It wasn't a question. Jo shook her head no. "Now what?" the younger Hardy brother asked.

"On my way in I saw a window with a few broken panes. I can see if I can sneak inside to get a look around."

Joe shook his head. "Too risky. They might follow through if they see or hear anything."

"Then what do you suggest?" she asked tartly.

"Draw them out here. Something that would convince all of them to come out. Are you absolutely sure there are only 2?"

"No. I only saw 2 go in but that doesn't mean there aren't more. There are a few cars around in front."

"Well why don't we take away their means of escape then?!" Joe grinned in the dark, his pearly white teeth practically shining.

"How?! Letting the air out of their tires?!" she snarked.

"I was thinking it was a little chilly out here tonight. We could use a little warmth." was the slightly impish reply.

Joanna gaped at him for a moment, then shook her head as she smiled ruefully. "Pyro." she said fondly.

"You know you love me." he said cheerfully. "Give me ten minutes." and he disappeared into the darkness.

On his way around the building, Joe sent a quick text to his brother letting him know they were in position but hadn't confirmed anything yet. Cautiously, he stepped out into the parking lot of the warehouse, making sure to avoid the lone street light. His own car was parked over by Joanna's, which had been left by the guard shack at the security gate of the Warehouse section of the Port Terminal. That left three cars, conveniently parked in a neat little row. Joe took a quick glimpse into all three, looking for any obvious signs that one of them didn't belong to their suspects. Two cars had definite signs of being recently driven, while the third looked to be abandoned, as evidenced by a slightly flat left rear tire and the amount of grime all over. Joe popped the trunk of that one and smiled in satisfaction when he found a gas can at least half full and enough rags to get the party started. A quick break in of the driver's side door and search yielded a disposable lighter buried in the glove box.

Joe then doused all the rags with gasoline before placing a few in the back seat of the abandoned car as well as one of the others, which had been carelessly left unlocked. The remainder of the rags were stuffed into the tailpipe of the center car. Then Joe returned to the other two and lit a rag from each back seat before tossing it back, allowing the pile of them to catch fire. He then quickly knelt down and lit the tailpipe pieces before high tailing it out of there back to his partner's location.

This time she didn't jump when he placed his hand on her shoulder. Instead she just gave him an inquiring look. Joe whispered softly "Any minute now." They both crouched in place another few minutes before a sharp explosion rent the air. From their vantage point behind the building they couldn't see anything except a large plume of thick black smoke rising as it rolled over into a mushroom shape. "Three, Two, One" Joe whispered as he backed away from the door.

Both of them ducked even lower as the door flew open with a bang and two men ran out cursing and made their way around the building. Joe silently thanked the architect who designed this warehouse with only one door (not counting the loading bays which faced the dock and water) and their foresight in placing it on this side as opposed to the side facing the parking lot. He further thanked the weather, which was overcast without being too chilly despite the time of year. This allowed him and his partner to follow their suspects without detection around the corner.

Both men, burly and middle aged but gone to fat and wheezing from being out of breath, had stopped short at the sight of three cars in various stages of melting, Their friends Gloria and Bruce would have called them carbecues. It took Joanna and Joe less than a minute to knock both men out from behind and secure them with the zip ties that Joe now carried with him everywhere. They would have stayed to enjoy their success, but the smoke and acrid fumes were causing them to cough, plus they had more important things to do. Leaving their victims trussed up a fair distance away from the flames, they ran back around the corner and cautiously entered the warehouse.

Joanna had a small flashlight, which she now turned on, but left it pointing down and shielded it with a hand. "I don't suppose you know where to go?" she whispered almost silently.

"Nope." Joe returned equally low. "Stick together, just in case we are dealing with the Three Stooges and not just Butch and Sundance." Luckily, like most dockside warehouses the one they were currently skulking about was littered with enough large crates and boxes to offer ample cover. By instinct they headed towards the middle of the giant room where they found a single overhead light dimply illuminating their destination. Both darted forward, only to abruptly freeze as a third figure stepped out from the shadows and pointed a gun at them. "Oh goodie. It's Moe." Joe muttered disgustedly under his breath. Joanna elbowed him to keep quiet.

The man was taller than Joe and wider than both of them together. Unfortunately, Joe noticed immediately that it was neither fat nor flab. He was solid and looked to be in fit shape. Oh well, he sighed silently. They can't all be couch potatoes. He stood tense but alert next to his partner, who mirrored his stance. "In case you were curious," Joe said lightly, "Your pals will not be joining us for the rest of this evenings' festivities."

"No matter." his voice was smooth. "It's not like you can stop me anyway."

"I was planning on doing just that, actually." Joe responded with steel in his voice. Beside him, Joanna moved slightly to her right, widening the gap between them. Two targets were harder to hit than one. Hopefully the man in front of them would unconsciously do what many did, underestimate the female.

Over the last couple of years, as Joe and Joanna spent more time together in the field, they began to notice a pattern when confronting targets. Joe was a shade over six feet tall, muscular without being stocky and had an uppercut that rivaled any pro boxer on the circuit. Jonna was slender, only five foot six on a good day and looked young. Sometimes they went for Joe, figuring Joanna would be ineffectual in a fight. Others times they went after her, thinking she couldn't defend herself. Often, when faced by several thugs, the majority would concentrate on Joe, leaving only one or two for Joanna to dispose of. Which she usually did, having 2 black belts, was working on a third and had no problem fighting dirty when the situation called for it. And then she was free to 'help' Joe( never rescue. Never ever rescue. His ego would not accept that) finish off the rest of them. As a team, they were very good together, almost as good as Joe and Frank. But Frank preferred the office portion of the job and seldom joined in field operations any more. He'd pull an occasional stake out when Joanna's family life precluded her participation, but that was about it. As a result, the Jo(e) Twins, as Sam had christened them, spent a good deal of their professional lives together and had learned to read each other's body language as well as be able to predict how things would go down. Joe swore he was always right, but Joanna acidly noticed how he never actually mentioned his prediction until AFTER the fight was over.

Today was no different. The two parties sized each other up, and when the guy with the gun made his move, it was towards Joe. Joe grinned that smug grin he was so famous for. This was going to be easy. That half step in his direction was all Joanna needed to pull her own gun into position and fire. That she chose to aim for the thug's gun hand and not a knee, shoulder or center mass was just her way of showing off. The man yelped in surprise and pain as he dropped his gun within range of Joe's foot, which he used to skate the gun across the floor before delivering the coup de gras. The man dropped like a stone. As Joanna holstered her weapon, Joe knelt down to secure the man's hands, now slick with blood, behind him with a zip tie. Leaning in to the man's head, he whispered "Always stay on a lady's good side, Pal." giving a quick grin to his partner, Joe stood up and they both headed towards the lone chair sitting in the middle of the empty space.

They were facing the back, so could not get a good glimpse of the figure there, whom they sincerely hoped was the daughter of the District Attorney, kidnapped over a week ago in an attempt to convince her father to drop certain charges against certain unsavory characters. By tacit agreement, they split up and approached the front from either side. At first glance they both breathed a sigh of relief. It was her, and she was alive and conscious. Their second glance stopped them cold.

Tightly secured to the girl's chest was an assortment of wires, electrodes and explosives. With a timer that read fifty eight minutes.

**A/n: **_have not lost my cliff hanger touch!_


	2. Chapter 2

**A/n:** _For all my American Readers: Happy 'It's okay to overeat and make yourself sick before hitting the Black Friday Sales' Day! Fairly short chapter here, but I hope it sets up the mood and Joe's emotional state. Please pardon the naughty language. Joe hasn't had any coffee.__  
_

**Chapter Two**

In a supreme effort of will, Joe did not let his face betray the horror he felt. He held up a hand, preventing Joanna from coming all the way around and seeing for herself. "Jo, would you go and call Mattheson and ask him to join us?" He kept his voice casual, but once Joanna heard him ask for the EOD expert on the Bayport Police Force she gasped and looked sharply at her partner, who was sweating more than a little and very very tense around the eyes, all while looking calmly if emotionlessly at the terrified young girl tied up in the chair. He shifted his eyes only for a second towards his partner, silently reinforcing the request. Joanna nodded and stepped outside to be able to talk more freely. At the door, she paused and looked back. Joe flashed an open hand twice, indicating 55 minutes left. She nodded and ran out the door.

Joe very slowly and deliberately came the rest of the way around so that he was facing her straight on. He crouched down on his haunches about 3 feet from her knees. "Hello, Rebecca." he said softly. "It's almost over, I promise." She was about 14, with long blond hair that was currently matted with dirt, sweat and who knows what else. Her blue eyes were not the same deep Aquamarine of his own, but more of a sunlit summer sky blue. Currently they were wide and brimming with tears, which flowed in streams down to the rag that was gagging her mouth. Her wrists were tied tightly to the chair arms, and he could see where she had rubbed herself raw trying to get free. Her shoes were missing, and her ankles similarly bound to the legs. "I'm sorry I can't untie you just yet, we have to wait for some friends of mine to show up and tell us if it is safe to come any closer. My name is Joe, by the way. And I have been looking all over for you." he smiled gently at the teen and hoped his nervousness and impending panic never showed.

He continued to speak in a low, soothing voice, talking about nonsensical stuff, just to keep Rebecca calm. "So, is Old Man Cassidy still teaching Biology?" he looked at her until she nodded her head, looking bewildered over the gag. "I had him when I was your age, way too many years ago to admit to in public. Does he still have that gawd awful ugly ass tweed jacket?" a definite snort of laughter then, however strangled. "Thought so. I expect he will be buried in that thing. Assuming he ever dies." Joe kept up the soft stream-of-consciousness rambling for several minutes until Joanna returned, a guarded look on her face. She jerked her head in a 'come here' motion, so Joe excused himself to Rebecca and stood up, wincing a little at the cramps in his calves. He walked the few feet to stand head to toe with his partner, although he kept glancing over to the girl in her chair.

"So, when will Mattheson be here?" he whispered in a voice too low to carry much beyond Joanna's ears.

Joanna swallowed nervously. " He's not coming."

"The Fuck!" Joe started off shouting before quickly clamping down on the noise and language.

"He's at the Mall. Somebody found an explosive device anchored to the bottom of a car. Guess some kid noticed it when he dropped his keys crawled under to get them he saw the bomb on the car next to his." Joanna's eyes were tight with worry. "But he told me to call Frank. Said he was the next best thing to being there himself." She laid a hand on Joe's arm. "I am going back out to the gate to bring him back here. Troy said not to touch anything until Frank can perform a visual inspection."

"Easy for him to say. That's a 14 year old innocent girl goddammit!" Joe was furious and terrified at the same time.

"Joe, calm down!" Joanna hissed. "You know he would be here if he wasn't already in the middle of something equally as important, and with far more at stake."

"Needs of the many, is that it?!" Joe muttered bitterly.

"Frank is already on his way. Maybe you should go and bring him back." Joanna suggested.

"I will not leave another girl to die like that." Joe seethed back so vehemently that Joanna looked at him askance, never having seen this side of him before. "You go ahead and meet him, I am not leaving Rebecca." He spoke with such an air of finality that Joanna got a little frightened.

But she nodded anyway and with a reassuring smile to the hostage, returned back the way she came.

Joe was alone with his thoughts. Thoughts that inexorably kept returning to the image of an explosion and a pixie like brunette with green eyes and an impish smile. He wasn't sure he was going to be able to keep it together long enough to get Rebecca safely out of harm's way.

**A/n: **_some things you just cannot move past and forget. you may able to let go to a certain extent, but it is a part of who you are. I am about to get in the car and drive to my SiL's for the Holiday. Everyone who is traveling, do so safely! _


	3. Chapter 3

**A/n: ** _Well today was a glorious day in College __football, with the mighty USNA Midshipmen extending their wining streak over the USMA at West Point to a whopping THIRTEEN STRAIGHT GAMES. Go Navy! Beat Army! in celebration of this grand event, I present to you the next exciting chapter!_

**Chapter Three**

When Frank Hardy rushed into the warehouse, his focus was not on the poorly lit bomb or the hostage it was strapped to, but his brother. He absentmindedly handed off his laptop case to Joanna, who arrived hot on his heels behind him, and rushed to confront his agitated brother. Joe was pacing back and forth in a short line, hands clenched and jaw clenched so hard that the veins pulsed, easily visible.

"Joe." Frank urged his brother to stop his frenetic actions, but Joe refused to look him in the eye or slow down his tightly controlled movements. It looked as if the blond was in more danger of exploding than the bomb. Frank stepped into his brother's way and grabbed him hard by the upper arms. "I got this. Take it easy." Joe was trembling so hard that Frank again tried to force Joe's head up but remained unsuccessful. He had to settle for moving one hand to Joe's neck, and moving closer, touched his forehead to his younger sibling's. "You need to get out of here." Frank's words were gentle and rich with compassion.

That seemed to jolt Joe out of his reverie. At long last, he looked into his brother's deep brown eyes and snapped out of his inner war. "You know I would never even think of doing that!" he seethed.

"Then pull yourself together, dammit!" Frank retorted, hoping it was enough to force Joe into recognizing the necessity of the harsh words without taking them personally. Joe looked at him, startled and a little hurt, before understanding dawned.

"You're right. Sorry." his voice cracked a little as he spoke.

"Never apologize for that, Joe. You just can't let it take over." Frank released his grip and turned to the task at hand. He quickly retrieved his laptop and within a minute had it booted up. "Eighteen minutes. Plenty of time." he smiled reassuringly at Rebecca. It took him about three minutes of consulting the laptop before he declared that it was safe to approach the girl and remove her bonds. "But you can't move yet, okay, Rebecca?" he warned her gently. "Not until I disconnect everything."

At her shaky nod and muffled "Hmm Hmmm" Frank told Joe to go ahead and undo her wrists first, then her mouth. She gagged a little as the dirty cloth was removed, and then began coughing. Joanna said "There's some water in the car, I'll be right back."

"Better?" Joe asked her softly, smiling gently at her. Even as she nodded, she began crying. "Hey, Hey, " Joe comforted the girl, standing up and coming around to lean in and place a reassuring arm around her shoulders. "Don't be afraid. We won't let anything else happen to you." he flicked his other hand in his brother's direction. "That's Frank. He's a Geek, but in a good way. He'll disarm the bomb and we can get out of here. Pizza, or burgers?"

Her sob turned into a hiccup of surprise. She turned her tear streaked face up to him and croaked out "What?!" in shock.

"By the time Frank does his thing, and we get out of this craphole, I know I am going to be hungry. Pretty sure your mother will not want to waste any time cooking me dinner, so what do you say we stop by somewhere and grab a bite? Although, Pizza takes too long and I bet you just want to get home, am I right?"

Caught between incredulity and amazement, Rebecca gave a sort of strangled half laugh, half cough.

"Ignore him, Rebecca." Joanna's amused voice came from behind where she was seated. "He's _always_ hungry and will use any excuse to bum a free meal out of anyone."

"Who _are_ you people?!" the teenager squeaked, still not sure she was safe despite the cute dark haired one carefully cutting wires and the cuter blond one grinning impishly at her. She twisted her head around and was only slightly reassured at the sight of the older woman with the gun in her hand that was not pointed at her.

"We're the Good Guys, Rebecca." the blond one who said his name was Joe promised her. "As soon as my Big Brother finishes, we are going to take you straight home. "Frank?" the blond one (_dayum he was __**really**__ cute_ she thought) asked the other one. "How ya doin?"

"You can't rush these things, Joe." Frank absentmindedly chewed on his pen as he would consult his laptop before reaching over to disconnect another wire.

"Um, Dude, the timer reads 2 minutes. So yeah maybe you should think about rushing. Just a little." Despite the light tone in his voice, Frank did not miss the thin lips and tense shoulders on his sibling. Not that the girl looked relaxed either.

"Have some faith, will ya?" Frank groused as he consulted the schematic on his laptop before choosing the final wire to cut. With a wink at Rebecca, he deftly snipped the last wire with a full 76 seconds left on the timer. "Not even close." he slipped the laptop from his lap onto the ground, rose smoothly and extended a hand to Rebecca and helped her stand up.

Her legs collapsed beneath her as she tried to stand; Joe swiftly and easily swept her up into his arms. "I've got you." he said softly as he held her close. She was shivering in fright, cold or hunger. Possibly all three.

Frank chuckled as he gathered up his equipment. "Story of my life. I do all the hard work, You get the girl." Rebecca blushed even as she pressed closer in to the warm and spicy scent. He _**really**_ was cute. And built. And those eyes. Woah.

"Be nice, or I will so tell Gloria you were ogling a younger woman."

"Maybe I'll just tell your wife you are literally picking up girls." Frank threatened.

"Oh for cryin' out loud you two." Joanna's exasperated voice cut through. "You are worse than my kids I swear." she made Joe set Rebecca down and took over shepherding the girl by placing her light jacket over the teen's shoulders and leading her away. "Never you mind about them, Dear. They just like to hear themselves talk." Jo cupped Rebecca's elbow with a steadying hand as they headed to the exit. "Let's get your father on the phone so we can tell him you are all right." at the doorway, though she stopped and turned around. "Don't forget the third suspect Joe!"

"What third suspect?!" Frank exclaimed.

"He's right ther..." Joe stopped mid sentence as he whirled around and found..nothing. "Oh Shit!" He whipped out his gun and ran out, passing the females at a dead run. "Stay put!" he yelled as he ran past. He hit the corner of the building and came around at full speed, headed towards the parking lot where they had left the first two thugs trussed up near the burning cars.

The cars were little more than blackened husks now, smoldering instead of actively burning. There was no sign of anyone else. Joe was still swearing when everyone else arrived. Joanna had a tight grip on Rebecca, her gun also drawn. Frank brought up the rear with his laptop and something else. He placed a slick, bloody zip tie in Joe's outstretched hand. "Lose somebody?" he asked with a quirk of an eyebrow.

"Three somebodies." Joe spat in disgust.

"Well we will deal with that later. Right now we need to get Rebecca home. I keep getting frantic text messages." Frank suggested.

"Ugh. I have no desire whatsoever to explain to Daddy that I let the asswipe who kidnapped his daughter get away." Joe groaned.

"So we don't say anything tonight. Let them have their reunion." Frank said. "We can break the bad news tomorrow."

"If you say so." Joe sighed.

" I do. " Frank couldn't help but notice that Joe was still tightly wound, despite his outward appearance and seemingly calm conversations. The last thing his brother needed was to have to explain how the kidnappers had gotten by him. "Rebecca, we are taking you home now. You want to ride with Joanna, or one of us?"

Despite being sorely tempted to take him up on the offer and ask to ride with the dreamy blond one, Joanna seemed the better choice. So the two ladies said their goodbyes, Rebecca giving both men a grateful hug before disappearing with Joanna in her Suburban.

**A/n: **_Yeah uhh the real world got annoyingly __insistent that I pay more attention to it than my writing. sorry it took so long to update. next couple chapters should go quicker. as in before Christmas . promise. _


	4. Chapter 4

**A/n: **_Apologies and explanations at the bottom. But hey! Happy new Year! _

**Chapter Four**

Joe waited until Joanna's car disappeared out of the gate before heading to his own black SUV. He got about two steps before his brother called him back. "What was that all about?" Frank asked, concern coloring his voice.

"What was what all about?" Joe asked, feigning ignorance.

"Joe. Don't play games with me. Joanna said you went off the deep end. Why?" Frank chided.

Joe started to deny it, but stopped as soon as he saw the look in his brother's eyes. He slumped back against his car, shrugging . "I dunno." he admitted softly. "I just took one look at that kid and the bomb and I saw red." He started pacing. "and then when Jo said Mattheson was taking care of a car bomb at the mall, well..."

"Too many bad memories?" Frank asked kindly.

"It's the one thing that really sends me over the edge." It was never easy to admit, even to his brother. But over the years he had learned to accept this one facet of his personality. He still didn't like the fact that it interfered with the job on occasion. Not even Dr Suitland had been able to get him fully over the traumatic events of all those years ago. Joe visibly changed mental gears and cast a steady look at his brother. "But we don't have time to deal with my problems. We need to get after those three goons."

"Tomorrow." Frank insisted. "It's late, and by now Rebecca is going to be home and in no mood to talk to us." Joe reluctantly conceded the wisdom of that remark and told his brother he'd be at the DA's house tomorrow morning. With a short wave to his brother, he got into his SUV and headed home.

The place was dark when he arrived, and he very quietly entered the house and crept upstairs. He stripped in the bathroom , leaving everything in a pile and hoping he wouldn't get yelled at for doing so in the morning. He was exhausted, but could not fall asleep, and eventually gave it up as a lost cause. He went downstairs and sat in the dark living room brooding over the night's events.

His wife found him there the next morning staring blindly into space. She knew he had had a breakthrough on his latest case the night before but was concerned that all had not gone well. She also knew from past experience that trying to draw him into conversation, of any sort, while in one of his moods, was less than useless. So all she did was plant a quick, light kiss on the top of his head and murmur "Good morning" before heading onto the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. He was still in the same position 15 minutes later when she retuned with a pair of coffee mugs in hand. "Will you be wanting breakfast?" she asked and she handed over the darker of the two mugs, as he drank his coffee black and she favored hazelnut creamer.

"Don't you have to be at work?" he asked as he accepted the morning nectar of the gods.

"Funny how being the Boss Lady has it's perks." she responded pertly. "The only meetings with clients today are Phil's territory. He doesn't need me there fussing over the bottom line." she curled up next to him on the couch, tucking her legs neatly underneath as she leaned in against his shoulder. Joe automatically lifted his arm around hers to bring her closer in. "So I am at your disposal, Sir." by saying this, she tacitly indicated she'd be here for him if he needed. He responded by squeezing her gently and softly brushing his lips against her cheek.

"Much as I'd love to be spoiled by a nice sour cream coffee cake or some apple cider donuts, I gots things to do today, Love." he smiled in thanks at the offer. "Cleaning up last night's mess." he finished sourly.

"Did it not go as planned?" she asked with a tinge of alarm. She knew it involved a kidnapping of a young girl but not any specifics.

"Yes, and no. We got the kid back safe and in one piece, but everyone else got away, including someone who may have been the ringleader. We'll need to question the kid at some point, and the longer we wait, the more likely it is she'll forget some important detail that we need."

"Is that what's bugging you? The fact that they got away?"

Joe looked at her with a carefully blank face. "That's part of it, yes." he admitted slowly. She didn't need to be told that there was something else, and whatever it was, he wasn't going to share that information. It didn't bother her. She was well used to secrecy as the child of a military man. She trusted her husband to share what pertained to their relationship and she didn't need to know every single facet of his job.

"Oh well. Your loss. The cider is just about to go bad too. Donuts would have been the perfect thing to use it up."

"What about pork chops for dinner with that cider glaze you made last month?" he suggested. "Mom wanted the recipe she liked it so much."

"Sounds like a plan." she agreed amiably. "I am off for a shower then. Diner at the usual time ish?" not knowing what his schedule was like she kept the question open ended.

"Probably. I'll call if something comes up." Just then the door bell rang and Joe beat Halloran to the door.

"Please tell me you still have coffee left." Frank pleaded. "My machine died this morning."

"The horror!" Joe laughed as he stepped aside to let his brother in. " I _suppose_ I could spare a cup. Can't have you falling asleep in the middle of a conversation."

"Nope." Frank agreed with a grin. "But pour it into a travel mug and shave at least. We have a meeting in 20 minutes." he glanced at Halloran, who took the hint and excused herself upstairs to shower. "The DA is equal parts thrilled and furious and he wants us to get on their trail ten minutes ago. I told him we still needed to talk to Rebecca. He insists it happen at their house with him present."

Joe shrugged. "Fine by me. She'd be more at ease in familiar surroundings knowing she's safe. Give me ten." and he bounded upstairs. Hall was in the shower by then so he just grabbed his electric shaver and ran it over his face a few times while pawing through the closet. He chose a plain button down shirt and dark blue slacks but grabbed one of his 'funner' ties, a understate Taz print before sticking his head into the bathroom, wolf whistling his wife under the lather and telling her he'd be back for dinner. "Love you!" he said in goodbye.

Downstairs, Frank was pouring the dregs of the coffee into a travel mug. "Remind me to hit a Target or something before this day is done. I refuse to spend twelve bucks on Starbucks."

"Tim Hortons is better by a long shot." Joe retorted.

"We aren't Upstate enough for a Tim Horton's." was the rejoinder.

"So we open a Branch office in Syracuse" Joe blithely replied as he grabbed his coat, and keys and ushered his brother out he door. "Who's driving?"

**A/n: **_ so, this is like a week late. it's also way shorter than I intended, having wanted to wrap this up completely this chapter. _My only excuse/explantion is this.. sometime before the holiday I began ___having..issues..with my eye. It came to a head the day after Christmas but of course being a holiday weekend the federal government, and thus my medical care providers were all closed. the upshot is, I may or may not be going blind. They have identified the issue, and are hopeful they can salvage my vision to at least it's current state and not any worse. I really do feel a thousand percent better than I did a week go, and can actually spend time at the computer writing or otherwise doing stuff that requires me to actually see what I am doing. I am not a religious person, but your positive vibes would be greatly appreciated. I do hope that Santa was good to you( he was to me, I got a CRUISE for Christmas! ) and that 2015 does not suck. and yes Tim Hortons is a bazillion times better than Starbucks. _


	5. Chapter 5

**A/n: **_Remember when I said I was going to wrap this up soon? Yeah. I lied. as I was writing this chapter, I got attacked by a plot bunny and now this will be closer to a full length story as opposed to a niblet of one. but hey, you are now guaranteed more action and possibly some Joe whumping! Again, sorry this took so long but 'knock on wood' my eye has not given me any more fits. _

**Chapter Five**

Frank drove, mainly because his car was at the end of the driveway and thus blocking Joe's. The drive was mostly silent. Frank kept sneaking sideways glances at his brother. Joe seemed solemn if no longer as upset as he had been. He decided to not open any old wounds by bringing up last night's emotional tirade. If his brother needed or wanted to discuss it, he would.

The DA had definitely beefed up security at his home. In addition to the imposing gate that was remote controlled, there were two black SUVs poised at the entrance, and the brothers counted no less than a dozen armed figures on the grounds easily visible, which meant there were at least that many not so visible. After dutifully handing over their IDs, and waiting for the lead guy to radio back to the main house for confirmation, they proceeded up the lengthy driveway. There they handed over their IDs yet again and endured a pat down. When Joe grumbled a little at what he considered overkill, Frank asked him "Wouldn't you be slightly cautious after what happened?!"

"He hired us, we shouldn't have to be frisked is all I am saying." was the somewhat petulant reply.

Frank wisely chose to ignore his brother's complaints and patiently endured the extra screening before being allowed up the stairs to be met by yet another large imposing figure dressed all in black. At least he had a suit on, as opposed to all the others who stuck to tee shirts, jeans and dark sunglasses. Frank was all business, Joe still grousing, when they were led into the formal living room.

Charles Montgomery was the state's youngest District Attorney who had made his career based on being tough on crime, with a focus on the drug trade. Under his watch, the number of drug dealers taken off the streets had tripled in the last 5 years. His wife, a former model, was equally passionate about helping users get clean, as she herself had been an addict during her younger years. They had two children; the oldest James was currently in college and their younger daughter Rebecca had just turned 15. Unfortunately, the Montgomery's became targets for the more aggressive drug lords who had no problem involving family members in their disagreement. This sort of thing was usually frowned upon, especially in the more 'business like' drug cartels.

Montgomery stood when the brothers entered. Unlike the past couple of days, he looked slightly less exhausted and was wearing a far less wrinkled suit and tie. His wife Veronique sat so close to Rebecca she was nearly in her daughter's lap. Rebecca looked much better, her hair now in a single braid, her face freshly washed and wearing a hoodie and flannel PJ bottoms; she still looked tired and wan and kept an iron grip on her mother's arm.

After shaking hands with the brothers, Montgomery indicated that they should sit down on the couch facing his wife and daughter. He remained standing. The aura of authority he gave off would have cowed another man, and frequently did in the courtroom. Luckily, both brothers were used to such tactics and neither were all that impressed, although they gave the man the respect he was due, both as a client and as the DA.

"Thank you for saving my daughter," the DA began with a glance at the two women seated on the loveseat. "But the fact remains that you failed to apprehend the suspects." he glowered at Frank and Joe before continuing. "What do you have to say for yourselves?!"

Frank placed a warning hand on his brother's knee to keep him from defending their actions before speaking for the two of them. "Our priority is always the safe rescue of the hostage, Mr Montgomery." he met the stern gaze with aplomb and a hint of censure that any other consideration would be unacceptable. "Furthermore, every attempt had been made to secure the suspects. One of them was wounded, their means of transportation destroyed. Neither my brother nor his partner had any reason to think they would get away. And there was the small matter of time running out, literally." he gave a meaningful glance at the teenager who reacted by burying her face in her mother's shoulder.

The DA had the grace to accept the rebuke, if with somewhat sullenly. "But until they are apprehended, my family is still in danger!"

"Which is why we are here to interview Rebecca. Hopefully she can give us the information that can end this once and for all." Frank smiled encouragingly at the teen.

"I don't know what I can do to help." she said softly. "They never said a word to me."

"But I bet they talked to each other, right?" Joe spoke up with an encouraging smile. "Like you weren't even in the room." he didn't mention the fact that they probably did so as they fully intended the girl to die so weren't concerned with her hearing or seeing something incriminating. With a sideways glance at the DA for permission, Joe got up and strode over to where Rebecca had sat up straight, her mother's reassuring arm around her shoulders. Once again he knelt in front of her and spoke softly. "Anything you heard or saw could be useful, Rebecca. Even silly stuff like what they talked about."

Rebecca chewed her bottom lip as she thought for a minute. "Mostly the big guy, the one the lady shot, was there by himself. He totally ignored me. I kept begging to go home and all he ever did was stick that rag into my mouth." she shuddered and Joe patted her knee in sympathy. "His phone would ring, and he would mostly listen, never said much."

"What about the other two, Rebecca?" Frank inserted himself into the conversation. "How often did they come by?"

"They were the ones that brought me there, but I never saw them again until last night." She took a deep breath and began to think. "They were laughing when they came in. Joking around. The Big guy kinda yelled at them and they shut up, but the bald one was sulking." after a look at her parents, who each nodded encouragingly, she continued. "I don't know what else I can tell you."

"Did they call each other by name, or even a nickname?" Frank asked. She thought about it for a minute before shaking her head. "What about something like where they were before, or what they were going to do afterward?" he continued with the interrogation. Again, she shook her head and tears sprang to her eyes in her dismay.

Joe quickly laid a hand on her knee. "Hey, it's okay. Don't worry about it. I know it's tough. But anything you can tell us will help, even if you think it's stupid or isn't important." he smiled at her, gently and with only a hint of his usual charm. He knew she may have vital information, but they needed to tread carefully. And he also knew that laying it on thick was overkill, especially with daddy standing right there glowering.

Rebecca found herself lost in those perfect blue eyes. They really were the most incredible color. While she was mesmerized, her subconscious began revealing itself. "Murph!" she suddenly shouted, startling everyone in the room and causing one of the body guards to reach for his gun before sheepishly withdrawing his hand from his suit jacket.

"The bald guy said they had to be at the Murph for the pick up." She continued excitedly.

"The Murph?!" her father asked, confused.

"Murphy Theater. Strictly B movies, cheap tickets and flat beer." Joe said. "What?!" he asked after seeing the raised eyebrows on his brother and the DA's faces. "You never went to a Midnight Murph in high school Bro?!" at his brother's negative shake of the head, Joe laughed and turned back to Rebecca. "Some people just don't know how to let loose and have fun."

Returning to the mission at hand, Joe sobered up and began to probe Rebecca's mind for more clues. "Did he say when they had to be there? Or who they were meeting?"

" 'after it was done' " she air quoted. A glance between all the men indicated they knew exactly what 'it' was. Luckily it appeared as if Rebecca had not quite grasped how close she came to death the night before. No one was going to be the one to ruin that illusion for her. The teen bit her lip as she concentrated on remembering. "It was for a new job, I think." she continued. "The big guy asked how much and the bald one said 'the usual'"

"That's good, Rebecca. Did they say or do anything else that you remember?" Joe smiled at her encouragingly. (_his teeth are sooo white and even. Why can't Todd's be so perfect?) _she thought a little meanly. Todd was her boyfriend and he smoked, so his teeth were stained yellow and he had a couple of broken ones from playing hockey in the winter. "Rebecca?" he asked again, shaking her knee a little. She blushed as she was brought out of her fantasy.

"Something about needing some extra supplies this time." she sat back on the couch and closed her eyes, thinking hard. "The dumb looking one said he had a source at the Hospital that could hook them up." Everyone in the room chuckled at her description of the third suspect. The two brothers looked at each other, thinking the same thing. They had work to do. Frank reached out a hand and helped his sibling stand up.

"Mr Montgomery," Frank began as he walked away from the girl and her mother to a more private area. "Based on what she has told us, we have work to do. It is possible that you are still a target, so I suggest that you and your family take every precaution. In fact it may be best if everyone got away for a while. And please let your son know that he needs to be very careful as well."

"I am _**not **_going to be cowed or bullied into running away, Mr Hardy!" the DA seethed quietly so as not to disturb his family.

"Don't think of it as running away." Joe interjected. "Tell the press you are taking the time to support your daughter through a difficult period and to do that you need some seclusion." he glanced back at the teen who was still glued to her mother's side. "A few days at the beach would be just the thing. A beach in Bermuda." he looked calmly at the DA, giving him an out that would be acceptable to the public he served while still keeping everyone safe.

The DA chewed on that concept for a few moments before nodding once in acknowledgement. "I will consider it." was all he said though. He shook hands with both men at the door. "There is going to be another kidnapping, isn't there?" he asked at the top of the marble steps.

"Not if we do our jobs right, Mr Montgomery." Frank replied. "This is our responsibility since they got away once on our watch. They won't escape a second time." he stated emphatically. Joe nodded in agreement. The Da appeared mollified by that comment and wished them good luck before returning to his family inside.

"Now what?" Frank asked as they got back into the car and headed down the driveway."

"We go to the Murph." Joe said grimly. "I think it's time to visit my old Pal Bennie."

**A/n: **_'The Murph' is an actual place. when I was in college in the podunk little town of Wilmington, OH, in what passed for downtown, there was a little ramshackle movie theater that showed 2nd and 3rd string __releases (movies that had been out for months already) for the astronomical price of $3 and that included a small popcorn. On Wednesdays, they showed Cult Classics like Rocky Horror at Midnight for a buck. The owner also let the Service clubs and Fraternities/Sororities on campus sell snacks(usually a sandwich baggy full of popcorn we made ourselves for a quarter or sometimes home baked goods.) Back then, the drinking age in OH for beer was 19 and you were grandfathered in when they raised it from 18. It was really bad, cheap beer, but it was beer. and being a NON Quaker attending a Quaker school it was literally the only place I could drink( dry campus) It was also literally the only safe/sane/not stupid thing we could do to let loose. we were int he middle of farm country after all. _


	6. Chapter 6

**A/n: **_Hah! an Update! and you didn't have to wait a month for it! _

**Chapter Six**

'Bennie' peaked in high school. A classmate of Joe's, he was not quite a jock, not quite a nerd and not quite a failure. Currently, he was the manager of the Murphy Theater, where he could be counted on to water down the beer, serve stale popcorn and be a little too friendly with the high school girls who were brave enough to work there. He still lived at home, ostensibly to take care of his aging parents but everyone knew better. His arthritic mother still did his laundry and cooked his meals and his father with the bad back still mowed and shoveled and raked all year long. About the only nice thing that could be said of him is he didn't do drugs, although he was very generous with the beer to his underaged employees.

When the brothers pulled up to the theater, there were only a few cars on the parking lot, most of whom belonged to employees. "I cannot believe you spent time here, Joe!" Frank exclaimed. "It's a fire hazard at least and a death trap at worst!"

"That's part of it's charm, Frank!" Joe grinned. "After all our away games, we came here on the way back into town if it wasn't too late." he sighed expansively as he took a deep breath. "I love the smell of this place. Rancid without being nauseating."

"Uh huh. How do you know this Bennie person anyway?"

"Second string running back. I think he might have played 3 games all through High school. And then only because Jerry was sick or hurt, or we were up by more than 3 touchdowns in the second half. Never a whole lot of potential, and never very ambitious either." Joe shrugged as he got out of the car and headed to the entrance.

The interior of the theater's lobby was dingy, smelled of stale beer and rancid chocolate. A lanky, pimply faced teenaged boy looked up disinterestedly from his place behind the snack counter. "Help you?" he mumbled through a mouth full of chewing gum.

"Yeah. Bennie around?" Joe asked casually. The kid jerked a thumb towards a door to the left of the popcorn machine. "Thanks." and they proceeded to walk around the corner. He didn't bother to knock.

He should have. Perched on Bennie's bony lap was another employee, a girl of maybe 17. his hands were up her too short skirt and his face was buried in the cleavage of her too unbuttoned blouse. "Bennie, that's just gross, man!" Joe snorted in disgust, causing the girl to shriek, Bennie to nearly fall off the chair and the pimply faced kid, who had followed behind, to smother a bark of laughter. The girl quickly buttoned up her blouse and scrambled out of the room, while Bennie blushed twelve shades of red.

"What do _you _want?" Bennie grumbled sourly.

"I _want _ to beat the crap out of you for being a perv. I will settle for some information." Joe's voice was mocking. He came around the corner and hitched a butt cheek up on the corner of the desk and leaned over, causing Bennie to cower in his faux leather chair.

"Wasn't. She was into it as much as me." he muttered sourly.

"I'll bet," Joe's tone indicated he clearly didn't believe a word of it. "Last night, around 11, maybe a little later. Three guys, one of 'em with a bloody or bandaged hand. See 'em?" he leaned in closer and wrinkled his nose in disgust at Bennie's beer breath. "One of the other guys was bald and the third had on the ugliest plaid shirt you have ever seen in your life. And that's saying something." Currently, Bennie was sporting a Western shirt that no real Texan would ever be caught dead in, considering it was bright pink with turquoise accents and Bedazzled beyond comprehension. Bennie shook his head frantically.

"I ain't seen nuthin' man. I was in my office all night doing the books." he stuttered, trying to back away from the big blond towering over him.

"You better not be holding out on me Bennie." Joe warned. The hapless manger shook his head so hard his long stringy hair whipped into his eyes.

"I seen them." Booth brothers whirled around to face the boy still at the doorway. The kid shrugged. "Big dude bled everywhere. Gave him a towel."

Frank eagerly approached the boy. "They were supposedly meeting some one here. Did you see who?"

The kid shrugged. "Yeah, but it was only Alf."

"Who's Alf?" Joe asked Bennie.

"Nobody!" Bennie protested. "He's just the guy that cleans up overnight!"

"And where does Alf live, Bennie?" Joe grinned evilly as he winked at his brother.

With a gulp, Bennie vaguely waved a hand towards the file cabinet along the wall. Frank went over and after tugging on the top drawer, managed to get it unstuck and open. The personnel records were filed in no particular order so it took him a few minutes to find Alf's. Once he did, however, he gestured to his brother. "Got it. Let's get out of here. This place gives me the creeps"

"That's just Bennie." Joe grinned as he hopped off the desk and followed his dark haired sibling. "The Murph has its' own special charm."

"If you say so." his brother replied dubiously.

Alf lived in a ramshackle hotel on the outskirts of town. Seeing as how he worked nights, it was easy to catch him at home. It was less easy to wake him up from the drunken stupor he was in and let them in. Neither brother accepted the vague offer to sit down somewhere. The lone chair was strewn with clothes and empty fast food bags, and the bed, well let's just say landfills smelled better. Alf peered blearily at them through bloodshot eyes and grunted non answers to their questions until Joe finally got frustrated and declared he was getting the man some coffee. Frank kept a close eye on the man while Joe went up the front desk and filled a styrofoam cup full of old, burnt sludge. But Alf reached for it eagerly and was soon sighing in pleasure. Both eyes opened fully now and widened somewhat as he beheld the two fit young men glaring at him in his own room.

"Wat kin I do for ya?" he asked warily.

"You had visitors last night at work, Alf. We want to know what you talked about." Frank said.

"Get lots of visitors. Imma popular kinda guy."

"I bet. These particular visitors shouldn't be hard to remember. 3 guys, one with a bloody hand. Ring any bells?" Joe asked as he stepped closer, causing Alf to back up and fall into the chair.

"Mebbe" the hungover man stuttered. There was a sudden glint in his eye as he saw the possibility of profit to be gained. Frank saw what he was up to right away and moved in closer to stand next to his brother. He could be just as menacing as his brother, despite being somewhat leaner and studious looking. Alf soon found himself leaning so far back the chair was dangerously close to tipping over. "Nuthin'!" he squeaked. "We didn't talk about nuthin! I swear. I just handed over an envelope!"

"There, that wasn't so hard, was it, Alf?" Joe said sweetly as he backed away and leaned against the wobbly table that sat under the window. "What was _in_ the envelope?" he continued less sweetly.

"I ain't that stoopid. I don't ask and I sure as hell don't look." Alf exclaimed indignantly.

"Then who gave it to you to pass on?" Frank remained towering over the hapless man.

"Some guy. "

"His name?" asked Joe.

"Anonymous." Alf grinned weakly.

"Funny. Description?" Frank was enjoying himself. He missed some of the more 'flexible' aspects of field work. At first Alf hesitated, clamping his lips shut but Joe immediately stood straight and took a single step closer. That loosened the man's lips very quickly.

Soon he was babbling random bits of information in no particular order so Frank was forced to pull out a notebook and start sketching. Joe kept Alf supplied with Front Desk Lobby Coffee and even bought him a stale Pay Day from the vending machine. It took over an hour with multiple revisions, but eventually Frank was able to produce a sketch that Alf pronounced an exact likeness. Frank took the sheet of paper back, thanked Alf and handed him a $20 bill. Grim faced, he flicked his head at his brother in response to Joe's questioning glance. "We got what we need. Let's go."

Once outside, Joe burst out excitedly "Well?!" In response, Frank thrust the paper at his brother.

"Look like anybody we know?!"

Joe gave a long, low whistle of half surprise and half impressed. "Well I'll be damned. He's baaaaack." He looked at Frank who was tense. "We need to tell Con about this."

"Oh hell yeah." his brother agreed with feeling. He pulled out his cell phone and scrolled down his contact list. "Yes, This is Frank Hardy. I have some urgent information for Chief Riley that he needs immediately." Frank listened to the response at the other end, before rolling his eyes. "Fine. Then please have Officer Herndon call me ASAP. He has the number." Hanging up he shrugged at his brother's questioning look. "Con is 'unavailable all day'"

"Ahh the joys of being a Big Wig." Joe snickered. He bounded across the parking lot and waited by the passenger door of his brother's car until Frank remotely unlocked the doors. He opened the door, but paused before getting in. "Admit it."

"Huh? Admit what?" Frank asked, confused.

"You had _fun_ in there with Alf. Just like the good old days!" Joe smirked.

" I admit nothing." Frank loftily announced, barely hiding the grin that threatened to escape.

"Admit it, or I call Gloria this minute and tell her the _**real**_ reason you can't go to her parent's this weekend is because you are going to Chicago with Phil!" Every year, Chicago hosted a convention of the latests and greatest in computer technology. Phil and Frank had been going to it since they were 16 and over the years he had missed it exactly once. And that was only because the doctors refused to clear him to fly and it was too far to drive in mid winter.

"She already knows that, Goof."

"Yes but does she know you only have one room with one bed in it?!" Joe lifted an eyebrow leeringly.

Frank laughed out loud and got behind the wheel. "I am trying to save money, so Phil graciously allowed me to crash on the _couch_ in his suite that _your_ wife is paying for!" Phil's trip was being underwritten by Infotech as a business expense. 

Joe refused to take the bait. "What do you need to save money for? You already own every geeky gadget on the planet."

Suddenly, Frank blushed. Joe caught it and pounced. "Spill!" he demanded with relish.

With a sigh, as he knew he would get no respite until he did 'spill', he reached into the back seat of his car and grabbed a small brochure. "Page 15." he handed it to his brother who immediately began thumbing through the pages. He got to pg. 15 at the stop light.

Another long, low whistle, this time of admiration. "I am impressed!" Joe approved. "Very nice. Very nice indeed. " he tossed the brochure back into the rear of the car. "I approve."

"Do you now?" Frank positively dripped with irony.

"Yes. I do." was all Joe said but suddenly his smile became less mischievous and more fond. "I approve very much indeed." This time Joe was the one blushing so by mutual unspoken consent no more was said on the subject.

It was nearing noon, so a short break for lunch was declared before they got back into the car. "Now what?" Joe asked as he slurped the last bit of his soda. "Pay a visit to Carly?"

"If anybody knows anything, it would be Carly." Frank agreed. This time it was Joe who got out the phone and called the office.

"Jo?" he said as soon as the other end was picked up. "Need an address. Carly Fleming." he waited while the address was retrieved, then scribbled it down hastily on a piece of scrap paper. "Great. Thanks. If you don't hear back from us in 2 hours, call the cops and give them the address. No we don't expect any trouble, which means we are bound to run into it." he grinned at his brother as he said that.

Carly Fleming lived in an apartment building that had seen better days. The elevator hadn't worked in years and of course she lived on the fourth floor. Before entering the building, though, the boys split up. Joe went inside, Frank took up a position in the back of the building near the fire escape. Joe took his time, so he was only barely winded when he got to the fourth floor and knocked on the door of Apartment 4C.

The door barely opened, the inside safety chain in use. "Hello, Carly." Joe grinned at the tired looking face that peered out. "Is Spider home? I need to ask him a few questions." Without saying a word, she shook her head and tried to close the door, but Joe heard and saw hasty movement behind her. He quickly stuck his foot in the door and pushed hard with a shoulder, breaking the flimsy chain and flinging the door all the way open.

With a little yelp, the woman scrambled out of the way and ran into the bedroom, slamming the door shut. Joe raced to the open window and stuck his head out. "Yo! Spider!" he yelled. "Might wanna look all the way to the bottom!" The figure who had been scrambling down the rickety stairs stopped long enough to do so. His shoulders slumped as he beheld the tall lanky form of Frank Hardy waving back up at him, gun in hand. He stood up straight and glared back at Joe. "I promise not to shoot you. I even promise not to call the cops right away. I will even keep my brother from shooting you if you play nice, come back inside and have a civilized conversation."

The figure waved a hand in acceptance and began to climb back up. Joe assisted him in getting back inside. "Now isn't this better? " Joe asked solicitously. He got a dirty look in return.

By the time he was all the way back inside and sitting down on the yellow floral couch, Frank had made his way upstairs himself and walked in. There was no need to knock as the door was half off it's hinges. Frank made a show of putting his gun away. "hello, Spier. Long Time No See."

"I'm on parole." Was the somewhat surly response.

"I don't doubt that for a second. I believe you, really." was Frank's amiable reply. "Hows Bertha?"

"Fine." was the wary but less fearful reply. "She's in the bedroom. Carly took real good care of her while I was away."

"Glad to hear it. Bertha is quite a specimen." Joe snorted at his brother's comment.

"You would think that." he groused.

"Tarantulas are misunderstood and under appreciated, Joe. Have some respect."

"Whatever." was the sullen rejoinder. "We have other things to discuss."

"True." Frank turned back to Spider and folded his arms. "So, what were you doing at the Murphy Theater last night and what was in the envelope?"

"Huh?" Spider looked honestly confused. "I was doing a favor for somebody"

"What kind of favor?" Joe asked.

"Just dropping off the envelope to some janitor. That's it, I swear!"

"Who was the somebody?" asked Frank.

Spider clammed up at this point and seemed extremely reluctant to share the information.

"Spider. A kid got kidnapped. Some slimeball strapped a bomb to her chest. He and his pals received that envelope last night. So tell me who's favor you did." Joe never raised his voice but every word was bitten off so precisely even Frank was impressed.

With a gulp, Spider looked from one man to the other before dropping his head. "Paul Stockton." he whispered. Frank and Joe looked at each other is shock.

"The _**Assistant DA**_?!" they cried in unison.

**A/n: **_free virtual cookies to the first person who guesses what was on page 15_


	7. Chapter 7

**A/n: **_I feel you may all become __spoiled with all these updates. _

**Chapter Seven**

The two brothers looked at each other, aghast. "That's one hell of a guy to be doing favors for, Spider." Joe said ominously. "Just what exactly were you getting in return?!"

Spider squirmed in his chair. Under the penetrating gazes of both brothers, though, he soon cracked. "He was going to wipe my slate clean. All I had to do was drop off that envelope and then pick something up in a couple of days. That's it, I swear!"

"What something?" Joe asked intently.

"Dunno. He just said to wait for his call and he'd give me instructions then." He swallowed nervously. "Look, fellas, I got outta the joint four months ago. I ain't had a drink or a hit in that whole time. My parole officer got me a good job and I stayed away from all my old gang buddies. My life is looking up, ya know? Then Carly gave me the news." he glanced over to the still shut bedroom door where Carly was presumably still hiding out. "I'm gonna be a daddy!" Spider said this with a certain amount of awe. "I need a better job, one that pays more, but my parole officer said cuz of my record I am probably SOL. I wanna do right by my kid. I don't want 'em to grow up with a crook for a father or to haveta be poor all his life." Spider dripped sincerity and earnestness.

With a glance at his sibling, Frank said "Spider, you help us out and I personally guarantee you that your slate will still be wiped clean and I will write you my personal letter of reference for whatever jobs you apply for."

"You'd do that?!" Spider gasped. Frank shrugged.

"Sure. Why not." he shrugged again at the look his brother gave him. "Just don't waste it. Don't make me regret giving you a second chance." he handed over a business card after writing something on the back. "The _**minute **_you get that call the _first _ thing you do is you call me. The _second_ thing you do is you pack up Carly with an overnight bag and you send her to this address." he indicated the back of his card. "Deal?"

"Deal!" Spider jumped up, beaming and shook Frank's hand so hard Joe had to smother a laugh. Meanwhile, Carly had come out, still looking rather pale. Joe handed her one of his own cards and said "Have the Super send the bill for the door to this address." Joe returned the look his brother gave him blandly. "What? It's a legitimate business expense, incurred in the performance of my job." With a final admonishment to Spider, the boys left.

"What's with all the altruism, Bro?!" Joe asked as they got into the car together. "Offering up letters of recommendation and all that."

"His testimony will be key, Joe. If the ADA is up to his eyeballs in this we'll need solid proof."

"If you say so." he pulled out his cell and called the office so Jo would not call in the Cavalry. As he was hanging up, he was notified of an incoming call. "Herndon. 'bout time you called back. But it may have been a false alarm. We were gonna tell you Lawrence Delgado was back in town."

"_SPIDER_?!" the incredulous cry was so loud Frank chuckled as he heard the disbelief in the voice.

"The very same. But he's on parole, has cleaned up his act and is willing to help us out on our current case."

"_The kidnapping of the DA's kid_?" came the startled reply.

"Oh, it gets better, Greg. We need to have meeting, preferably a private one. And it would be better if Con joined us rather than just you. No offense. We just need the Boss." he paused and waited for Greg to respond. After a few moments, Greg came back and suggested a meeting in an hour's time in Con's office. Joe agreed and hung up. 20 seconds later he was being put through to the DA. "Mr Montgomery, we have some new information that you really need to hear. Can you be at Chief Riley's office in an hour?" Pause. "Sir, I really think you need to be a part of this conversation. Yessir. It is that important." Joe signed off and regarded his brother with a shrug. "Kept saying something had come up. I think something else happened."

"Great. Do me a favor. Call Glo and put it on speaker." Joe grabbed his brother's phone and autodialed his brother's girlfriend. But instead of putting it on speaker right away, he waited until she picked up.

"_Hey, sexy._" Frank's girlfriend answered. Joe grinned wickedly as he replied. "Hello yourself gorgeous." The simultaneous shrieks of outrage from the two of them caused Joe to wince theatrically as both ears were assaulted by dual "_**Joe**_!" 's. Chuckling wickedly he thumbed the control for speaker and held the phone out to Frank, who glared but spoke into the air anyway.

"Hey, sweetheart. Can we push back dinner an hour or so tonight? This case is getting complicated."

Gloria's reply was lost in a wash of static. But when Frank repeated the question she was fine with the change in plans. He also pointedly did not sign off by saying I love you or any other mushy stuff as he was not interested in having to deal with Joe's teasing.

They arrived at the precinct just as both Greg Herndon, along with his partner, and the DA showed up. Montgomery looked distracted, edgy and just plain nervous. He barely acknowledged the greetings and led the way into the Precinct and without stopping, headed straight to the elevator that would bring them to the Chief of Police's office. He didn't even bother to knock he just walked in, leaving the door ajar for the rest to follow.

Con Riley, a longtime friend of the boys, was on the phone. He glanced up at the intrusion, raised an eyebrow, and returned to his conversation. "We can finish this up at a later time. My 1 o'clock is here." he hung up the phone and stood up from behind his desk. He extended a hand to the DA, who shook it absentmindedly. He waved in the other 4, who were standing awkwardly in the doorway. Con's office was expansive as befit his status as the Police Chief of a middling to large city. However, only 2 chairs were placed in front of his desk, so he came around it and invited everyone to sit on the couch and armchair ensemble. The Hardys and the police officers all took a seat after shaking hands. The DA remained standing and was very close to pacing nervously.

"So, gentlemen, to what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?" Con spoke affably as he directed his attention to the brothers. Frank began narrating the events of the past 12 hours, interrupted occasionally by Joe, or one of the police officers asking for clarification. The DA, oddly, barely paid attention. He kept checking his cell for text messages. There were sidelong glances, but Montgomery only answered questions put directly to him, if albeit a little absentmindedly. It was not until Frank mentioned the fact that Spider had fingered the ADA as the man who hired him , did he stop pacing, looked up from his phone in shock and then all but collapse into a vacant seat.

"Charlie?" Con asked softly.

"I should have realized..." Montgomery said blankly.

"Realized what?" Con asked, intrigued.

Montgomery heaved a very deep sigh, looked as if he was having an internal argument with himself, and finally spoke. "I got a phone call this afternoon. I had promised to not speak about it to anyone, but I think I need to break that promise." he gave Con a long look. "I was absolutely told to _**not**_ mention word one to the authorities. Or to you." the DA looked directly at Frank and Joe when he said this.

"Do you know John Carstairs?" he asked the room at large. All the Police Officers nodded, Frank and Joe shook their heads.

"He's one of your leading prosecutors" Con supplied the information. The DA nodded.

"Exactly. He's a 15 year younger version of me. I am grooming him to be the next DA when I make my bid for Circuit Court. I make no secret of it, and Stockton has resented it. The only reason I appointed Stockton instead of Carstairs is because he was never going to get confirmed due to his lack of high profile cases. So I have been giving him all the juicy ones." He sighed. "Apparently that has backfired. John's son was kidnapped early this morning. I found out about it right after you left my house, Mr Hardy."

As everyone reacted with shock, Con reached out a sympathetic and to the DA's shoulder. "If I learned one thing from all my years in Bayport, is that sometimes, you have to suppress your instincts and let the cops take a back seat. Of course it helps when Fenton Hardy is your Contingency Plan." he said with chuckle and a nod towards the next generation. "Whatever you say here will not be used in any official capacity."

Reassured, Charles began tell all he knew. "Everything about the situation is identical to mine, the note, the phone calls, even the amount of ransom and deadline."

"So we can also assume they also plan on doing the same thing as they intended to happen to Rebecca." Joe said grimly. "Mr Montgomery, we never mentioned it, as it was irrelevant, but the timer on the bomb was due to expire a full two hours before the deadline they gave for the ransom drop. They had no intention of letting your daughter live." Everyone gasped at that comment, and Con began to seriously second guess his prior decision.

"Greg, I believe you and Paul are due for some time off, yes?" He spoke slyly as he came to a decision. The blank looks lasted only a minute before his intentions dawned on everyone present.

"Well, Sir, I dunno about my partner, but I sure could use a few days R&amp;R." Greg said affably. Goddard just grunted, being far less jovial. He didn't dissent, however.

"Then here's what we do." Riley spoke briskly. Charlie, you go home and act like noting has changed. If Carstairs gets in touch with you you pass along everything to the Hardys. I don't wanna know squat. You can easily make any meetings with them be all about your daughter. Keep a low profile with the press but if cornered just reiterate that the person or persons responsible are still at large and while there are no leads, you have every confidence, blah Blah Blah." Montgomery nodded his assent.

"As for you two," Con then turned to his officers. "As of this minute you are on 'vacation'." he used air quotes. Since I know you are such good friends with these two yahoos, I am sure you can find some activity to do together." He jerked a thumb at the brothers who were by now grinning broadly. ?now, I you do not mind, I have real work todo. Go Away!" and with that, Con Riley gave his silent blessing to whatever wild plan the Hardy Brothers could come up with.

They all stood up and dispensed with the handshakes. Charles Montgomery left, looking a little less lost and a lot more grim, which was saying something. The other 4 took their leave and headed outside. "Now what? Greg asked.

"My place for a strategy session." Joe said. "Bring dessert." to Frank, he said "Hall's been bugging me to have you two over for dinner. Unless you have a night of wild passionate sex planned; in which case, ewww; bring Gloria along. The girls can gossip or whatever and we can come up with a plan. You are responsible for the before dinner snacks."

with a roll of his eyes, Frank only said. "If she is okay with that fine. If not, I'll be by later on."

"Then it's settled." Joe said in satisfaction. Even though he rankled at having to wait now that he knew yet another child was in danger, he at least had a sense of purpose about himself that helped reign in his natural tendencies. He had his brother drop him off at home so that he could take his own car and do some grocery shopping.

While he was in line, he called his wife and told her she was off the hook for dinner and explained the reason why. Delighted at the news she decided she would treat herself to a mani/pedi instead of coming straight home after work. He laughed fondly at her proclamation and asked her what wine he should get. After getting her request, he signed off and paid for the groceries.

Once home, he busied himself with prepping toppings for the burgers he planned to make, including a package of black bean burgers for Gloria and Paul, who were both vegetarians. Soon, the tomatoes were sliced, the pickles were drained and the lettuce peeled off the head. He had cheated and bought pre made potato salad, and made ready a couple of cans of baked beans that could easily be heated in the last ten minutes or so.

One by one, at the appointed hour, everyone arrived, although Halloran was last, muttering something about traffic downtown being worse than normal. Dinner was not quite hasty, but no one lingered over the meal, in silent agreement that the sooner they got down the brass tacks the better. Gloria and Hall sliced and served the apple pie and ice cream the police officers brought, then slipped away with the bottle of wine to the kitchen. Joe brought everyone else into the living room.

"Okay, so what's the Plan?" he asked of the room at large.

**A/n: **_don't get too used to it. I won't promise anything going forward with regards to how fast the chapters come. Next month has a lot going on. _


	8. Chapter 8

**A/n: **_Yeah, uh this chapter got out of control..._

**Chapter Eight**

At the request of the two police officers, Frank and Joe brought them up to speed on what had happened at the warehouse the night before. At some point, one of them called Joanna and invited her over, but she had replied that unless it was vital to the mission that she be there, she had a sick kid.

"So what, we wait until Spider calls?" Greg asked after the brothers fell silent.

"Not precisely." Frank cautioned. We can get ready for when that call comes though." he paused, frowning slightly. "I think it's a pipe dream to assume we will get as lucky the second time around. They are going to be more cautious, and probably have already made some changes with the little boy." Carstairs' son was only four. Having been kidnapped himself at that age, Frank knew exactly what the kid was going through. He had a sudden thought. "Crap! We need to find a way to get something of the kid's to prove to him we are safe!" at Greg's confused look, Joe responded.

"Kids that young are told by mommy and daddy to never trust strangers. Toss in being kidnapped and the only way to avoid the screeching hissy fit of a total toddler meltdown is to either have a parent right there, or have the kid's favorite toy, blankie, or whatever. Mine was a stuffed rabbit that went everywhere with me until I started Kindergarten. Frank's was a..." before he could continue, however, he was pelted with a throw pillow.

"Never you mind." Frank growled. To the others, he looked faintly pink. It didn't help that Gloria had picked that exact moment to pass through the living room on the way to the kitchen to open another bottle of wine. Joe chuckled, and Paul nodded in agreement.

In one of his rare additions to any conversation anywhere, he said. "Billy has a purple elephant named Woozle. The trunk has been sewed back on a dozen times already. He carries it by the thing." He shrugged his shoulders. "And no, you cannot buy a new one. They know the difference. Last week Mary had to wait until he was asleep and could sneak it out from under his arm to do repairs and give it a good surface clean." he fell silent again, leaving Frank and Joe to stare open mouthed at the fact that he had just spoken more words at one time than he had in the entire time the brother's had known him.

"Why don't we hang out at the Murph waiting for the delivery. We could let the transfer take place, then follow whoever picks it up." Greg suggested in the silence. "I for one have been woefully behind in my movie watching." he looked to his partner for agreement. "This Alf person has no idea who we are so he won't be able to warn off anyone."

Frank considered, then nodded his head. "Sounds good. We'll keep publicly pursuing 'leads' to Rebecca's kidnapping, so we can be come and go with the DA as needed. He can pass along any information he gets from Carstairs and somehow convince him to hand over something of the child's."

He stood up, causing everyone else to do the same. "Everyone keep your cells charged and handy. When this goes down it's going to be quick, and every second will count." All right, he admitted it. He _had_ missed the feeling of anticipation and exhilaration that came with field work. He wasn't addicted like Joe was, but it made for a nice adrenaline rush.

He didn't stay long after the two police officers had left. He and Gloria had not had any quality time together in weeks; if anything, she was busier than he was at the hospital. Once the elder Hardy son had begin enjoying a life outside of the job, he found that the job was no longer enough to keep him happy. And he found he _really_ liked going it alone, without his brother and sister in law tagging along. That didn't mean that he no longer enjoyed spending time with Joe and his wife; Sunday dinner was still at their Parents' house every week and at least one night a month was spent with the gang at Mr Pizza still. But they were no longer joined at the hip and he realized how much he enjoyed that separation.

The next 27 hours went by at a snail's pace. Greg and Paul checked in every 2 hours as they traded off watching everything Alf did at home and at work. Frank made it a point to speak to Spider's parole officer and let him know the cooperation the ex convict was providing and that he would be personally providing a reference for the young man should a better job opportunity appear. Only Joe was bouncing off the walls in frustration. He had managed to get Montgomery to ask for some sort of token from Carstairs, which turned out to be a faded super hero cape that was originally part of a Hallowe'en costume that the young James wore constantly, only going without it when his mother made him let go long enough for it to be washed. It was on one such wash day that he had been snatched from the daycare facility that was going to be thoroughly investigated for security failures just as soon as the kidnapping went public. Hopefully _after _the toddler was safely reunited with his parents.

The phone call finally came at 11 pm. Frank was already in bed, but awoke immediately and without any trace of sleepiness, answered crisply. "Hardy."

" _It's me_." Spider's voice came over the airwaves in a whisper. "_I gotta meet him in an hour at The Lady_." the Painted Lady was one of those bars on the fringe of respectability. It was generally considered neutral territory among both law enforcement and the criminal element. Many a clandestine meeting had occurred there over the years.

"Right." Frank was calm as he stood up and began dressing one handed. "You get Carly to safety first. After you meet with him and complete the task he sets you, get your ass over to my father's. He'll make sure you both are safe." He switched hands and began buttoning his shirt as he headed out of the bedroom and into the hallway. "Be careful, and don't worry about a thing. And don't give him a reason to panic!" He hung up without another word.

He spent the next ten minutes getting through to everyone else, and by the time the coffee had finished brewing in his new machine everyone was on their way to their appointed place. As he sat in the car next to his brother, he couldn't help but smile fondly in remembrance of years past when they were just kids, doing the same thing. Joe caught him looking and raised an eyebrow. "What?" the blond man asked.

"Nothing. Just reminiscing is all." Frank replied. "It's been a while since we were on a stakeout together, huh?"

"Miss it, don't you?" Joe exclaimed triumphantly. "I knew it!" his grin grew positively smug in self satisfaction.

"That, I don't miss, Brat." Frank pointed out with a grin of his own. "But yes, I guess if I was forced to admit in public, I do miss Field work."

"But you like the paperwork better." Joe wisely pointed out.

"I wouldn't say 'better'. Just.. I get more satisfaction out of it is all." the elder brother admitted.

"Weirdo." was the only response before Joe sat up straight and pointed. "Show time." Spider had come out of the Lady and ambled towards his car which conveniently was parked next to the SUV that the Hardy Brother's were sitting in.

As he got to the car door, Spider fumbled and dropped his keys. With a not-quite-too-obviously-forced curse, he bent down to retrieve them. Making a show of being clumsy, he informed Joe in a low voice through the open window that he was headed to the Murph to drop off an envelope. Joe acknowledged that before telling him to head directly to the Hardy homestead on Elm as soon as he completed his task.

Frank got on the phone. "Greg. We are about to tail Stockton in the hopes we can get him on tape. Spider is on his way, you follow whoever he gives the envelope to." Greg's cheerful response came through loud enough the Joe heard it as well.

Stockton must have stayed for a round, as it was another half an hour before he left the Bar and headed to his own car. He walked purposefully but without haste and was soon headed onto the street. Frank followed at a discrete distance. Unfortunately, all he did was drive straight home and within twenty minutes, all the lights on the house were off. Joe was all for getting closer to the house with a listening device, but Frank decided it was a waste and if they got caught, would ruin the entire plan.

As they sat in the SUV trying to figure out what to do next, Greg called with the news that he and his partner had tailed the two men that Spider had met. "_We're in the middle of downtown, at the abandoned building on Bayview_." the building was originally planned as a hotel and convention center, but when the developer went bankrupt, it sat unfinished. A large barbed wire fence discouraged most attempts to squat or do business. "_You might want to get down here. The third guy met them at the gate._"

At that piece of information, Frank started up the car and headed downtown. Neither man spoke on the way. The street was deserted at this hour, with half of the street lights out and the other half flickering weakly. Frank parked about a block away, and he and his brother walked silently to where Greg and Paul were crouched. "Any activity?" Frank asked as he crouched next to the police officers.

Greg shook his head. "Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum come out for smoke breaks, separately. Pretty sure we won't get lucky a second time with any distraction. One bit of good news is Number Three has his arm in a sling." he glanced at Joe. "So he'll be a limited danger."

"Unless he shoots with both hands." Paul pointed out sourly.

"You are just a laugh riot at the Precinct Christmas Party, aren't you?!" Joe snarked as he shifted his stance to get a better view of the entrance. He got a dirty look in response.

"Somebody needs to get inside." Frank suggested.

"I got it." Joe responded, and took off before anyone could say otherwise. He crept softly but quickly towards the gate, the heavy chain and lock that had been keeping people out discarded on the ground. Opening it just barely enough to squeeze through, he was soon through and racing towards a window with a conveniently busted out bottom half. He slipped inside in a matter of seconds, leaving the other three to just look at each other and shake their heads.

It was a long ten minutes while they waited for some sign from Joe. Eventually, Frank's cell buzzed and he opened text message to reveal several grainy photos that showed the men exactly where all parties were situated. Two were sitting at a small table playing cards, while the third sat on a few stacked boxes with a gun loosely pointed at the little boy, who was huddled on a dirty mattress and looked to be asleep. The photos came was a short text message telling them to head to a side door to be let in. All three pulled their guns out of their holsters as they stood and made their way one by one to the door. Joe met them with a finger to his lips and a wave of his hand inviting them inside.

A whispered conversation gave every one their instructions, which Greg gave after getting his own look at the situation inside. "Joe, you get the kid." Greg said in a low voice. "Frank, you take the one watching him. We'll get the card sharks." everyone nodded grimly as they readied themselves. As soon as Joe and Frank had both silently signaled they were in position, Greg stood out n plain view and shouted "Police! Put your hands on your head and get on your knees!"

Predictably, everyone reacted in surprise. The man with the sling, at the card table, stood up quickly, flinging the chair behind him as he dove out of the line of fire. His partner was less graceful and ended up tangling himself in the chair and falling in a heap, losing his grip on his weapon, which skittered across the floor. Paul easily reached him and withins second had him cuffed. Frank and Joe were not so lucky. At the start of the confusion, the third guy also leapt up, but made straight for the hostage. He scooped the young boy up in his arms and whirled around with the gun pressed to the child's temple. Everyone froze in place.

Paul shifted his stance so that he was covering the wounded man who was crouched behind the now overturned card table. Greg had moved in closer, gun raised and aimed at the gunman's head. Frank also had his gun raised although he wasn't really aiming for any vital body parts. He was focused on the shoulder of the gun hand. Joe snarled in rage and barely stopped himself from tackling the man to the ground, his weapon aimed to do lethal damage. James had been roughly woken up and now squirmed and kicked his legs all while screaming at the top of his lungs. He was so loud that no one could hear or be heard.

Of the 4 men present who weren't trying to kill James, only Paul had any experience with kids. Unfortunately he was in no position to affect any positive outcome, so he crouched frustrated over his captured man while glancing between the injured one still trying to sneak away, and the writhing tangle of toddler limbs at the far end of the room.

Apparently the gunman also was not a parent because he finally lost his grip on the squirming boy and dropped him. As soon as the child hit the ground, Frank and Greg both fired. Frank for the shoulder, Greg for center mass. Simultaneously, Joe dove on top of the boy, shielding him with his body. Eyes tightly shut, all he heard was several shots being fired in rapid succession. It seemed like an eternity before Greg shouted "Clear!" and he thought it safe to get up off the still squirming and kicking toddler.

James had not let up on the caterwauling the entire time and was in clear danger of hyperventilating. Breathing hard himself, Joe tried to get closer to the boy, who was having none of it. He scrambled back and managed to wedge himself behind a crate of something very heavy. The noise was headache inducing to say the least. As he stood there panting, hands on his knees, Joe felt rather than saw someone approach. Glancing sideways, he gasped and stood up straight with a jerk. "Frank! You're bleeding!"

The brunette lifted one corner of his mouth. "Thanks. I noticed." Glancing down at his arm, he shrugged. "Doesn't even hurt. I don't know where you get the crazy idea that getting shot hurts." He smiled smugly at his brother before frowning. "I liked this shirt though. And Gloria is gonna be upset since she bought it for me." Joe just gaped at him for a second before shaking his head in mock disgust.

Greg joined the two brothers who were unsuccessfully trying to coax James out from behind the crate. "Is he hurt?"" the Police officer asked.

"Who knows," Joe said disgustedly. "Can't get near him." he spared a glance over his shoulder. "What about the Three Amigos?"

"One dead, one wounded with non life threatening injuries and one cuffed and quiet." Greg said smugly. "Not a bad night's work if I do say so myself."

"It's not over until we get _that_," Frank pointed at the thatch of black hair barely visible behind the crate "out from behind there. We should call his father."

"Call Carstairs?" Greg scoffed. "No thank you. I would not want to have to explain to the Chief that I could not handle one tiny four year old."

"Oh for gawd's sake." Paul harrumphed from his spot guarding the 2 captives. "It's not rocket science. Somebody get over here to babysit and I'll get the kid." The other three men looked at each other, then shrugged. Greg went over and took over, allowing Paul to join the brothers. "Who has the cape thingy?" he asked. Joe wordlessly handed it over. Paul took it with a nod of thanks and approached the boy, who blessedly had stopped screaming, but was still sniffling loudly and remained firmly wedged. He got as close as he could to the crevice where the boy had found his way to what he perceived as safety. Paul began to murmur softly, making sure the cape was visible to the boy. The others could not make out what he was saying, so after about ten minutes got bored. Joe made Frank sit down so that his arm could get looked at.

Joe pulled out his Gerber and expertly sliced the shreds of the sleeve off his brother's arm. "Ask nicely, and I'll do the other side so you match." he smirked as he critically examined the thin crease that marred Frank's upper arm. The bleeding had already stopped, but Joe still took the remnants of the sleeve to make an impromptu bandage anyway.

"No thanks. I don't do sleeveless." Frank replied as he winced at Joe's prodding.

"Not very fashion savvy, are you?" Joe asked. "Might want to have Gloria get you some antibiotic cream." He expertly finished tying the knot that kept the strip of cloth secured neatly.

"Nah. Just know I can't pull off the Darryl Dixon look." Joe just snickered as he returned his multi tool to the sleeve attached to his belt. They were interrupted by Paul and the much calmer( and currently decked out in a super hero cape) James. He was clutching Paul's badge tightly in one grubby fist, and the other was firmly in his mouth.

"Jamie, this is Frank and Joe. They are going to take you home so I can take the Bad Men to jail, okay?" Paul said in a very soft voice. Jamie nodded solemnly, eyes very wide in his dirty face. Paul went to take his badge back but Jamie only clutched it tighter and tears started welling up again. Heaving a great sigh, he straightened up to his full height and ruefully said "See if you can get him to let that go at some point. The paperwork you have to fill put to replace them is a pain." Frank chuckled in sympathy. "Near as I can tell, he's not hurt at all, just in dire need of a bath and some chicken nuggets."

"We got it. What about you?" Joe said.

"We'll call it in, secure the area and get the Lab Rats in here to process the scene." Paul replied. "They'll have lots of fun making sure that the pile of wires and fuses in the crate the kid was hiding behind do not turn into a fully functional bomb." He smiled a bit sourly at their reactions of horror.

Jamie must have decided to trust the boys, because he suddenly tugged on Joe's pant leg, and when the blond Hardy looked down, raised both arms in the universal sign language for 'pick me up'. Joe bent over and allowed the child to grab him around the neck before standing straight again. "I think that's our cue." Joe said as he sifted the boy's weight against his hip. "You sure you don't need us to stick around?"

Paul shook his head even as Greg spoke. "Go. Get the kid outta here." So the brothers shrugged and headed out. Jamie clung even tighter to Joe's neck when he tried to settle him into the back seat, although he never uttered a sound. Privately they were grateful for the quiet. Giving up after a few seconds Joe crawled into the back seat with the kid still attached.

"Frank, see if you can get the seatbelt around both of us." Joe whispered over the thatch of hair that was tickling his nose a little. After a struggle, some _sotto voice_ cursing and adjustment of the belt buckle Frank decided it was safe enough to drive.

It took a few phone calls before he got an address, but in a matter of minutes he was pulling away and heading towards the Carstairs' residence. In the twenty or so minutes it took to get there, Jamie fell into an exhausted sleep, Paul's police badge falling out of a limp hand. They were met by the anxious parents who barely waited for Frank to turn the engine off before yanking open the back door and snatching their son. The two detectives were completely ignored as the now relieved parents fussed over their only child.

Although both men watched with self satisfied smiles, it soon became quite obvious that their presence was unnoticed. "Let's blow this Popsicle Stand, Bro." Joe whispered.

"Good idea. We'll swing by the Precinct and drop off Paul's badge before heading home. I need a shower." Frank responded equally as quietly.

It was nearly 3 am before Joe was home, but as he approached the front door of his house, the lights came on and Halloran opened the door with an anxious expression. He immediately put her at ease, declaring he was exhausted and all he wanted to do was crash. Which he promptly did so, not even giving his wife her usual kiss. It was nearly noon before he woke to the shrill sound of his phone blaring in his ear. "Mmpf" was the intelligent comment he made into the receiver.

"_Get your lazy ass out of bed, Hardy_." Greg chirped far too loudly and far too happily. "_Chief's office, one hour_." he hung up before Joe could respond. He blearily noted the time, and the fact that he was still wearing last night's clothes and somehow managed to stumble into the bathroom without falling flat on his face. Twenty minutes and a brisk shower and shave later, he was tripping lightly down the stairs into the kitchen , where his wonderful wife had left him a full carafe of coffee, still warm, and banana bread. He toasted 2 thick slices and slathered them generously with butter before grabbing the car keys and headed to the Precinct.

**A/n: **_And to think I was intending to end it this chapter! Wrap up, Epilogue and sneak preview of the next story coming soon!_


	9. Chapter 9

**A/n: **_and we came to the end of this tale__. Thanks to everyone who read it, commented or both!_

**Chapter Nine**

He beat his brother to the last parking spot in the 'near' visitor's lot, forcing Frank to swing back and cross the street in order to avoid a ticket by parking in the police lot. Joe allowed himself some small measure of satisfaction, as normally it was the other way around whenever they had a meeting at the Precinct. He only felt a tiny bit of guilt when it started raining buckets as he got inside.

Once inside, he barely made it to the front desk before he was being hailed by a young man he took a second to recognize. "Mr Carstairs." he acknowledged as he shook the man's proffered hand. "I hope Jamie is none the worse for wear."

"He'll be in therapy for years, but it could have been so much worse." The man gave a sour smile as he invited Joe to join him on the elevator heading to Chief Riley's office. Joe took a quick peek to see if his brother had caught up, but as there was no sign of Frank, he entered and pressed the button for the correct floor.

Con's secretary held them at the outer office, as he was in a meeting with the Mayor that was running a little over time. Meanwhile, Frank as well as Greg, Paul and the DA himself made it upstairs.. Montgomery looked grimly pleased as he nodded politely to the Brothers and the police officers. He drew Carstairs over to the side and began speaking to him in low tones, appearing to be discussing the fallout. The other 4 chatted about inane topics like the Bayport Knights, the Farm team that suddenly, after nearly 40 years of existence, was actually winning games. Greg and Joe were in the middle of a heated argument over who was to be credited with the turnaround in fortunes when the inner door opened, and out walked the Mayor and the Chief chatting amiably. Everyone who had ben seated stood up hastily and straightened out their shirts subconsciously. The Mayor stayed only a moment longer, before nodding pleasantly in a general way to the men and disappearing around the corner.

"Charles, gentlemen, please come in. Sorry to have kept you." Con Riley was slightly greyer and more than slightly heavier, but his smile was still full of mischief. As before, with so many men in his office, Riley indicated everyone should take a seat at the couch.

"Let me congratulate the four of you on a job well done" Con said in satisfaction at his subordinates and the two Private investigators. "The two gentlemen you apprehended have been most cooperative."

Montgomery spoke up then. "I am pleased to announce that the resignation of Assistant DA Stockton was formally accepted by my office earlier this morning. I am equally as happy to officially congratulate Carstairs as the newly appointed ADA in his place." murmured acknowledgments of the good news swept the room, which Carstairs accepted gracefully. "And yes, gentlemen, before you ask, charges have been filed; however we are going to keep it as low key as possible. No need to feed ay media frenzy that may come about."

Privately both Frank and Joe thought it was because they didn't want the embarrassment of such a scandal be common gossip in town, but other than a knowing glance at each other, said nothing. The rest of the meeting was short, as all that remained was some minor paperwork requirements that could be filed downstairs. As they all departed the Chief's office, the brothers thanked the police officers for their help and giving up a few vacation days to help save Jamie. "Any time, guys." Greg said jovially before heading out on patrol with his partner.

Once outside, Joe and Frank had to part ways, since Frank was stuck across the street. But before they did Joe couldn't resist asking "So, when's the big day?!" with barely suppressed glee. Frank just looked at him sourly.

"Never you mind." he declared grumpily. "I am not going to have you ruin things by letting the cat out of the bag."

"Have you no faith, Big Brother?!" Joe exclaimed in mock astonishment. "I only wish to offer my expertise in such matters, having already Been There, Done That."

"Uh huh. Suuuure you do, Little Brother." Frank sniped back in disbelief. "I got it all worked out, thanks anyway."

"Weeeel, if you're sure?" Joe wheedled and assumed an innocent yet full of earnest sincerity expression that Frank didn't buy for a second.

"Very sure, Brat. And do not think for one minute that you can take your time getting to the office. I expect you there in 20 minutes." he raised an eyebrow in challenge.

"But, lunch?!" Joe not quite whined.

"So order a pizza for delivery. No anchovies." was his brother's response.

"No fish heads. Gotcha." was Joe's pleased reply. "With or without Fungus?"

"No preference either way. But get some garlic cheese bread too."

"Your wish is my command, Oh Brother Mine." they had by now reached Joe's car so they waved goodbye and each continued on towards their workplace.

Frank duly noted that Joe's car was indeed already at the Agency as he pulled in and parked next to he Impala. He met the Mail carrier heading out as he entered, so stopped by the box to collect the day's delivery. He was shuffling through the pile as he trudged upstairs and into the Office. The stuff addressed to the Agency as a whole he dropped off on Martha's desk with a smile of greeting to the matronly receptionist. There were a few items addressed to Joe, a catalog and what looked like junk mail. For himself, he was somewhat surprised to find a thick envelope with a return address of the High School. He absentmindedly began opening it as he walked toward his office.

"Pizza in about 45minutes. Tony says he's slammed today and is shorthanded." Joe poked his head in. "Watcha got there?!" as he stepped fully into the office at the sight of the unusual piece of paper in his brother's hand.

"My high school class reunion?!" Frank spoke in a puzzled tone. "It's next month."

"Cool. You should totally go." Joe approved.

"Why?" Frank asked. "I still keep in touch with the friends I wanted to keep, besides, half of them are from your class anyway." All through High school, the boys had accumulated a close knit group of friends that encompassed both of their classmates.

"Dude the point is not to catch up with the people you miss, it's to pass silent judgement on the ones you don't!" his brother laughed. He got a dirty look in return. "Besides, don't you want to show Gloria off?! Especially if one Callie Shaw deigns to attend?" _That_ got Frank's attention. He wasn't normally a petty sort, but the way Callie had broken up with him was rather callous. He wouldn't mind showing his ex girlfriend that he had managed to survive Post Her.

As Joe left to pace anxiously at the door for lunch to be delivered, Frank got on the phone. "Hey, Hon. Think maybe you can finagle the 23rd of next month off?" he asked into the receiver. "My High school reunion" he replied to her question as to what was so special about the date. Her enthusiastic response left him wondering if there wasn't some sort of conspiracy going on between his brother and his girlfriend. "Okay then I will confirm two seats. I assume the fish option? Doesn't list a vegetarian one." another minute later and he said goodbye and then promptly called the RSVP number.

"Liz? Frank Hardy. I'm great, thanks, how about you?" he responded to her greeting. Liz Webling was more than an acquaintance but less than his close circle of friends while he was in school. Her contacts at her father's business, the Local newspaper, had been helpful during many of their cases as teens. "Listen I just opened today's mail and I'd like to RSVP for two at the reunion. It sounds great; It'll be nice to catch up with everyone." They chatted a few minutes more before Liz apologetically said she had other calls coming in. "Okay, I'll see you next month then, Bye!" Frank got up and went into the reception area just in time; the pizza was already half gone and there were only 2 pieces of garlic cheese bread left. Martha flushed red when Frank groused about that. For once Joe was not to blame...

**A/n:**_ any guesses as to what the next plot is all about?! Hubby leaves in 2 weeks for his deployment, so I probably will not start fleshing it out until then. _

_**Finis**_


End file.
